THE STORY

J. Bernard/CNRI/SPL Most cases of cancer result from avoidable factors such as toxic chemicals and radiation, contends a study published online in Nature on 16 December ( S. Wu et al. Nature http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature16166; 2015).

Study Reveals Environment, Behavior Contribute to Some 80 Percent of Cancers "Substantial contribution of extrinsic risk factors to cancer development" publishes December 16 in Nature Stony Brook, NY, December 16, 2015 - A team of researchers from Stony Brook University, led by Yusuf Hannun, MD, the Joel Strum Kenny Professor in Cancer Research and Director of the Stony Brook University Cancer Center, have found quantitative evidence proving that extrinsic risk factors, such as environmental exposures and behaviors weigh heavily on the development of a vast majority (approximately 70 to 90 percent) of cancers.

Cancer is overwhelmingly a result of environmental factors and not largely down to bad luck, a study suggests. Earlier this year, researchers sparked a debate after suggesting two-thirds of cancer types were down to luck rather than factors such as smoking.

Study found factors like sunlight and diet play a bigger role than DNA Healthy habits dramatically reduce the chances of getting cancer Scientists are divided over how much cancer is caused by genes/ lifestyle Most cases of cancer are down to unhealthy lives, rather than bad genes, doctors said last night.

Most cancer cases are not largely down to 'bad luck' but are a result of lifestyle and environmental factors such as toxic chemicals and radiation, according to a new study. Researchers found that 10 to 30 per cent of cancers were down to internal factors or 'luck', but external factors increased the risk by 70 to 90 per cent.

Things that can be avoided, such as chemicals and radiation, are to blame for most cases of cancer - says a new study published in the journal Nature. This clashes with research from earlier this year which said differences in cellular processes were the chief reason some tissues became cancerous more frequently than others - leading to claims that certain cancers were mainly the result of "bad luck".

One British statistician said that the results showed that between 70 and 90 per cent of cancers would not occur if we could 'magic away' all the external risk factors. Kate Allen from World Cancer Research Fund added: "It's not true that most cases of cancer 'just happen', and that there is nothing we can do to prevent them occurring.

Up to 90% of cancers are caused by modern lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking and spending too much time in the sun, according to a new study. The findings contradict research published earlier in the year which claimed that two-thirds of cancers were caused simply by "bad luck".

The majority of cancers are caused by lifestyle and environmental factors such as smoking, drinking alcohol and air pollution, a new study has found. The research findings contradict a study from earlier this year, that found differences in cellular processes to be the cause of certain tissues becoming cancerous.

That's what the authors of a new study in the journal Nature argue, challenging the findings of research that came out earlier this year. External factors such as exposure to toxins and radiation are a major risk factor in developing cancer, the new study says.

Cancer is mostly a result of external, environmental risk factors rather than down to "bad luck," according to a new study published in Nature magazine, which challenges prominent research into the causes of cancer.

In January 2015, a compelling study published in the journal Science reported that most cancers are random and out of one's control. The study made waves, challenging decades of public health messaging that suggested the best way to prevent cancer was to avoid certain behaviors.

Scientists have long agreed that a person's risk of getting cancer comes down to a mix of genes, lifestyle, environment thrown in with some measure of chance. But the relative importance of each factor has never been settled.

New research has found that environmental exposures, lifestyle choices and other factors that could be changed or avoided account for between 70% and 90% of the gene mutations that make cancerous tumors progress, leaving "intrinsic factors" to account for the minority of malignant tumors.

Between 70 and 90 percent of cancer cases are linked to avoidable lifestyle choices like exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals, suggests a study published online Wednesday in the journal Nature. That conclusion, drawn from researchers at Stony Brook University in New York, adds to ongoing study of the causes of cancer and individuals' ability to reduce their risk.

A new study found that, more than bad luck, nine out of 10 cancers are caused by environmental and lifestyle risk factors. Cancer is a result of DNA cell mutations, which lead to the aberrant growth of cells.

According to a new study, cancer risk may have more to do with lifestyle, not genetics, in as many as 90 percent of cases. Most researchers agree cancer is likely caused by the body's stem cells dividing at uncontrollable rates.